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Lena is the color of October leaves. She is my dog, and I just painted her. Her art will be debuting tomorrow at Arb Bark! Arb Bark is a family fun morning for dogs and their people at the Iowa Arboretum outside of Madrid, Iowa from 10 am to noon!

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SPECIAL PROMOTION!! Have you adopted a new pet from a rescue or shelter in 2014?

Order a CUSTOM PAINTING of your new fur kid (or your old furkid), and get a 10% discount. PLUS Woof Factory will donate another 10% to the shelter or rescue your new friend came from! Paintings are on canvas and start at $75 for a 6×6″ painting.

Order here! Use coupon code: ADOPT2014 when you check out! Then send me a few photos of your dog, cat or other pet, your choice of background color, and the name and/or website of the shelter or rescue you adopted from.

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June is adopt a shelter cat month!

And for a good reason I suppose – one of my local animal shelters, the ARL of Iowa announced last week that they have 317 KITTENS in their care – just kittens, adult cats not included! Go adopt one their many kitties, or send a donation! Or visit your local shelter – chances are good they are also caring for many cats!

The day after adoption day! Getting cozy.

YEAR OF THE CAT! One year ago this week I became a cat adopter myself when a 3 1/2 year old orange polydactyl tiger kitty joined our 3 dog home. I’m not sure if the decision to adopt a cat was impulsive or cautiously planned … I guess it was somewhere in between. After my cat-hating German Shepherd Vegas passed away, I occasionally toyed with the idea of joining the mysterious world of cat companionship. After a month of painting a cat portrait and designing a poster for a cat event, accompanied with the news of a very overpopulated animal shelter, I caved. I wondered if I was crazy and if my 3 fairly mellow, but large-ish and oh-so carnivorous canines could really handle a meowing addition to their pack.

After reading many, many cat bios (I’d been doing this for some time) I found “Peanut Butter”. The website said he was large, polydactyl (extra toes), and liked dogs, cats and kids. We visited him twice in the homeless cat room at the back of a pet store. Surrounded by many young, energetic cats he dozed peacefully on a fake tree branch. Both times we visited he was asleep, but woke up happy when we interrupted his cat nap to give him a few pets. His previous owner had thoroughly filled out an informational form which was extraordinarily helpful. What is your pet afraid of? Answer: Nothing. Sounded good and has proven to be accurate.

Fists of Fury!

He was too large for the cardboard cat carrier he was supposed to come with, so he came home in a small to mediumish dog-sized crate. Quickly he made himself at home. We named him Johnny Gato because I thought it sounded cool, and there was already a cat with a blog named Steve McQueen! Johnny accepted the dogs immediately. One of the dogs ignored him completely and the other two were a little too interested so we made a room into a temporary Catdom so that he could acclimate and the dogs could settle down. Cautiously we introduced them and slowly integrated them together. One received a very minor kitty claw eye poke. Other than that there have been no issues, no chases, and no hissing. I still think I must have been crazy thinking this would work, but, SIGH OF RELIEF, it did!

OMG! I survived 365 days in the dog house!

Johnny Gato gets very annoyed when everyone is outside and he is left meowing at the patio door. He looks at me with angry eyes and throws himself on the ground meowing pathetically. Sometimes I feel like I’m holding him hostage but I want him to be safe! He keeps us entertained with his kittenish antics and huge personality! The dogs once found his gymnast and super-climbing abilities mesmerizing and his litter box treats enticing, but this is all old news now! He likes to be around us, or on us. Or sleeping on our clothes if we’re not available. He even comes when he’s called. Amazing!

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SPECIAL FUNDRAISER ALERT! FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER, WOOF FACTORY WILL DONATE 20% OF ALL PAINTING ORDERS TO HELP MEMPHIS LIVE PAIN FREE!

THE BACK STORY: In 2002 I adopted Takoda, a husky with a broken leg. The vets said she’d always have leg issues, but she healed & became an energetic happy dog who would run for miles. Later in life she had a leg amputated due to osteosarcoma but she never lost her spunk! Because of Takoda, there is an extra extra special place in my heart for dogs with leg issues & this little husky Memphis makes my heart all mushy.

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WOOF Factory is now making bandanas!

We are now making totally handmade dog bandanas! We handpicked these cute fabrics and my husband sewed them. There are 3 designs, each named after one of our dogs. The Loki, The Lena, and the Duke. “The Lena” looks like little Lenas, with her white muzzle, tan fur, and little helicopter ears. “The Duke” is reversible: blue on one side and brown on the other, just like his eyes. “The Loki” is expressive, with lots of dogs phrases, just like her (Miss Barks-a-lot)!

They will fit a medium to large size dog. Thick, double-sized flannel. The Duke is reversible. And the best part: $2 of every bandana purchased will be donated to Taysia Blue Husky Rescue!